


A World Awaits

by booklovingelephants



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: After Crooked Kingdom, Crooked Kingdom - Freeform, Gen, Six of Crows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25940722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booklovingelephants/pseuds/booklovingelephants
Summary: Inej Ghafa has been reunited with her family against all the odds, after surviving outrageous heists. However, she has to leave them again, to fulfill her dream of liberating others like her from slave ships. This fic follows Inej as a captain, and the struggles she faces, both with the slavers and with members of her own crew.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	A World Awaits

Inej sat perched on the railing of the ship- no, it was her ship- her eyes trained on the ocean spread out in front of her, the surface rippling like clothes hung out to dry on a laundry line. Her heart was full of the promise of adventure, and more importantly, the opportunity to prevent others from going through what she had gone through. Even when her shoulders sagged with the knowledge that she had abandoned her parents yet again, so soon after when they had been reunited, her boiling hatred for Tante Heleen and all the slavers that had landed her in the Menagerie propelled her forward with new determination. 

“Inej!” a voice called from the other side of the ship. Before she turned, Inej knew that it was Anika, a former member of the dregs, and her only fellow female on the crew. Anika had decided to leave the Dregs in favor of joining Inej’s crew after a particularly close brush with death on a job. That night, Anika had walked right up to Kaz in the Crow Club and asked him if she could join Inej on her ship instead of returning to the Dregs. Inej had been surprised by her blunt request, and even more so when Kaz had agreed. 

Later, when Inej asked Kaz why he had let go of one of his most loyal soldiers, Kaz had simply said, “You’ll need someone loyal on your ship, someone who will protect who where my name won’t be able to,” before he limped to his room, clearly done with the conversation. A familiar ache came along with the thought of Kaz, but Inej was glad she had left him in Ketterdam, choosing to make her own way in the world. She was not, and never would be, willing to sacrifice her own self-worth for Kaz and his misdeeds, and a life where she lived just for a chance to see beyond the glass dome that he set between himself and the rest of the world. 

Now, Anika was sitting in the crow’s nest, a coincidentally accurate name. She had been scouting the horizons for slave ships to raid. Inej easily scampered up the mast to join her, curious to see what had drawn Anika’s attention. Her brows were burrowed in concentration, her eyes trained on something in the distance. Inej followed her line of sight to see a blurry shape. 

“A slave ship,” Inej said. Anika started. Like everyone else, she hadn’t been able to Inej until Inej had wanted to be noticed. 

Anika nodded. “Probably. It could be a merchant ship, but I doubt it. There shouldn’t be any merchies on this route, unless they got lost. The only people that will go on such a roundabout route would be the slavers.” 

Inej felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She had never had Jesper’s eagerness for a fight, but she had to admit there was something thrilling about the idea of liberating so many from their chains. The same chains she had worn herself, not so long ago. 

“Anika, would you go down and tell the others below deck to get ready?” Inej asked. “If this ship continues in the same direction, we should reach it in about an hour.” 

Anika grinned. “Sure thing, captain.” 

Captain. The word felt unnatural, like a hand-me-down that were too big for her, the sleeves enveloping her lithe figure, and she felt as if she was drowning in the weight of the fabric. 

Anika had proved an invaluable member of her crew. They had only been at sail for a week, and unrest already stirred throughout the others onboard. It didn’t escape Inej’s notice that many of the men were uncomfortable with having a woman as a captain, and a 17-year-old at that. Inej’s history as the Wraith preceded her, but they seemed to be having trouble wrapping their minds around the fact that the infamous spider who infiltrated the Ice Court was the young Suli girl in front of them. 

Inej heard Anika loudly telling the others to get ready to raid a slave ship. Inej heard them muttering, skeptical of this observation. It had barely been 3 weeks since they had set sail, and they only other time Inej had warned her crew to prepare for a fight, the ship had turned out to belong to a very confused, very wealthy Kaelish man who had wanted to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. A couple of the crew had kindly laughed it off, but others glared at Inej as they went back to their quarters. They handed her insults wrapped neatly with a bow on top, a gift with a sting in the back. Inej had lived in the barrel for a good portion of her life. She had learned to brush off insults, she had learned to protect herself from their words. But it didn’t ease the embarrassment at failing as a captain. 

You haven’t failed yet, she reminded herself. A well-need reminder, but one that didn’t do much good. You survived all those crazy heists you pulled off with the Crows. Commanding a ship should be easy. 

Inej tried her best to keep those same thoughts on a constant loop through her head, barricading them against the parts of her mind that told her she was being silly, she wouldn’t be able to help anyone, no one on her crew really trusted her. Somehow, though, those thoughts came leaking through, sneaking all her defenses. 

Meanwhile, they still crept closer and closer to the ship. There was no doubt any longer that they were a slave ship. Inej leapt down from her spot in the crow’s nest, landing in front of Jac, one of the surlier members of her crew. 

Jac blinked. “You know, it’s really startling to see someone just drop from the sky in front of you.” 

“You’ll see lots more startling than that before we’re done here,” Inej said. 

“Of course,” Jac said. “Doesn’t mean it’s any more natural to see you drop twenty feet and land without making a single noise.” 

“If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t even be a spider, let alone the Wraith. And if you can’t take that, then I don’t think you would fare well on my ship.” 

“Hey, I was just joking!” Jac protested. “I can take a fight, especially with one of those slavers.” 

Inej paid no heed. She had long learned that nothing was ever “just a joke,” with the men on her ship or the men in the Crow club. It didn’t make a difference. She was used to them belittling her. Once you let one snide remark snide, it was only a matter of time until they grew until she had a crew who would ignore her in a fight and publicly make fun of her. Inej had been small for too long, crouched down in a corner hoping that no one would see her. She had learned to mask her presence, something that had served her well as the Wraith, but would do her no good as a captain. 

She was a captain, after all. If the word didn’t fit right, then that didn’t mean that she had to change herself to fit it, only that the rest of her crew should learn a new definition of the word. She had gone from Suli girl to Wraith to captain, and she would carry all her identities with her as she explored the world that awaited her, a piece of herself that she could tuck into a corner of her heart.


End file.
